Alexis Taylor recommended On The Beach by Neil Young in Music (curated)
Nicky Wire recommended Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths in Music (curated)
Death in the Stacks
Book
In the latest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Better Late...
Sealed With A Curse (Weird Girls, #1)
Book
Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny...
urban fantasy vampires shapeshifters werewolves witches romance
Here to Stay
Book
CATHERINE ANDERSON WILL TOUCH YOUR EMOTIONS WITH THE NEXT CONTEMPORARY STORY IN HER HARRIGAN FAMILY...
Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen (Villains #1)
Book
The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a...
David McK (3425 KP) rated Les Misérables (2012) in Movies
Jan 19, 2022
One of those musicals/films that, while I had head of it and did not the broad strokes of, I had never actually seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Set in post-(Napoleonic)war France, this spans about roughly 20 years or so (i think 17, to be precise) starting in 1815 when ex-con Jean Valjean (Jackman) is released from servitude, breaks parole and reinvents himself but is then endlessly hunted by his former jailor Javert (Crowe), taking it upon himself to raise the daughter of seamstress Fantine (an Oscar-winning Hathaway) - as he believes himself responsible for her demise (which he does play a large part in, as he fired her from her job) Cosette, with the final potion of the film set in the 1830s with Colette now all grown up and falling in love with revolutionary Marius (Redmayne) across the barricades.
So, yes, there's some big names in the cast, including also Helena Bonh-Carter and Dacha Baron-Cohen providing the comic relief (and, somehow, I wasn't in the least bit surprised to see her there).
I'm still waiting for that bloke Les to turn up, though.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated Claws for Alarm in Books
Jun 14, 2018
I do need to get one issue out of the way first. There is a timing issue in the plot that keeps me from giving the version I read five stars. Once it is edited (and the author is working on the revisions), that won’t be an issue at all. And that’s great because this book is wonderful. I love the setting of the series, and always feel like I’ve gotten to relax when I am reading about it. Natalie and the usual cast are old friends, and I was glad to get updates on them. The new characters are just as strong and memorable. I thought I had the killer pegged early, but it turned out I was wrong, yet all the twists made sense at the end.
Jo (37 KP) rated More Than This in Books
Oct 6, 2018
This kicked off with such a dramatic opening, but then the first third was almost intolerably dull and I came so close to giving up on it. I just couldn't make myself care about Seth's miserable existence in his lonely 'hell'. I didn't enjoy his cycle of sleeping and moping, eating rancid food and drinking rancid water, puking and hurting. I get the importance of it, properly setting up the scene - the mood of hopelessness- and all, but it went on far too long.
I'm really glad I did push on, though, because damn! When shit finally did start happening, I was completely and utterly sucked in. The main body of the story had me hooked! Mighty confused but hella invested. And Tomasz -bless him, he totally earned himself a place in my <i>favourite-ever-characters</i> club. I loved him so, so hard!
Then the end hit way before I was ready for it.
And that ending, man... That <b>bloody</b> ending! What the ever-loving <i>FUCK</I>? After all that build up, it kinda felt like I'd been spat out and shat on :(
So. Yeah...
Following much deliberation, I'm awarding 3 stars for the story and one whole star to Tomasz all of his own.
Follow Me! I Will Lead You!: Letters of a BEF Battalion Leader 1914-1915
Book
'Follow me! I will lead you!' were the last words of Lt. Col. George Brenton Laurie, who commanded...